Denis Villeneuve still may not be especially well known to American audiences, but his profile has risen considerably since he was first announced as the replacement for Ridley Scott as the director of Blade Runner 2049. Despite losing the man who first created the world of a Los Angeles plagued by smog, replicants, and potentially unsanitary food trucks on the big screen, the years-in-the-making film has plunged ahead, fans reassured by the presence of cinematographer Roger Deakins, star Harrison Ford, and a title that happily didn’t turn out to be Blade Runner-er. But Villeneuve gained near-universal acclaim for his Oscar-nominated sci-fi film Arrival (including from us), reinforcing the sense that this film was in good hands.
And now, following a live Facebook Q&A conversation in which both Ford and Gosling spoke as though they had been ordered to remain as lethargic as possible, lest anyone mistake them for people happy to be there, the first full-length trailer for Blade Runner 2049 is here. Meaning, we are now free to pick it apart, with plenty of chance to go full Comic Book Guy—except that, with the possible exception of Jared Leto, it looks promising, albeit also more or less what you would expect from the trailer. Exchanges of dialogue that hint at a tantalizing larger mystery? Check. A weathered Ford looking like he’s been hiding out since the first film? Check. Leto already looking like he’s chewing scenery? SUPERCHECK. Nonetheless, this teases potential greatness—especially the trailer’s reprise of that superb Vangelis soundtrack. Blade Runner 2049 opens October 6, 2017.